Meeting Students Where They Are: Competency-Based Education and College Success

Wednesday, December 18, 2013, 7:00 am ET - 08:30 am ET

Boosting postsecondary education success is incredibly important for our ability to grow and maintain a strong middle class in an economy that increasingly relies on technology. A new Center for American Progress report will call for game-changing reforms to postsecondary education financing models to promote the adoption of competency-based education—which tracks student progress by measuring the acquisition of knowledge and skills—and stackable credentials—which allow students to leave and re-enter postsecondary education more easily—with the goal of enabling students to more readily complete programs and presenting clear pathways to the workforce.

Please join the Center for American Progress for this event, which will explore competency-based education as a driver of innovation with higher education. Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter will speak about competency-based education as part of President Barack Obama’s plan to make postsecondary education more affordable and a better bargain for the middle class. A panel will discuss emerging approaches to reform that show promise for encouraging program completion, reducing cost, and improving quality.

Featured remarks:Martha Kanter, Under Secretary, United States Department of Education

Panelists:Mary Ellen Ardouny, President and CEO, The Corps NetworkBecky Klein-Collins, Director of Research, Council for Adult and Experiential LearningYvonne Simon, Chief Learning Architect, InnovationLab, Southern New Hampshire University

Moderated by:

David Bergeron, Vice President Postsecondary Education Policy, Center for American Progress